Islahonline <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To: "islamcity" <[email protected]>
From: "Islahonline" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2005 22:52:37 +0100
Subject: [IslamCity] Islam Fosters Tolerance, Peace: Ex-Taliban Hostage
Islam Fosters Tolerance, Peace: Ex-Taliban Hostage
�The whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is not to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful places want us to believe,� said Ridleyf
CAIRO, December 5 (IslamOnline.net) - Yvonne Ridley, the British journalist who made international headlines three years ago after her dramatic capture and release by the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan, believes her life completely changed to the better, thanks to Islam.
What started out as a purely research about Islam following her release turned into a soul-searching trip that culminated with the firm conviction that Islam is not about oppression or violence, but rather peace, tolerance and understanding, she recently told Malaysia�s English-language The Star newspaper.
Embracing Islam in August 2003, the Sunday Express journalist admitted that she used to �work hard and play hard� and was a �prolific drinker�, but found herself now healthier, happier, and more content.
�And my girlfriends can see this, and they ask: �What is this that has changed your life so much?� And I say it�s Islam. And they say: �No, really, what is it?��
Ridley was in Malaysia last week to raise funds for the UK-based Islamic social service organization Al-Khaaem.
�The whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is not to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful places want us to believe.�
On Sept 28, 2001, Ridley, then 43, was trying to cross illegally into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
She was held captive by the Taliban. She was eventually released in October and went on to write about her unique experiences in a book entitled �In The Hands of the Taliban.�
In the book, she spoke about how she was treated with great respect and courtesy by Taliban members, who used to call her �guest� and �sister.�
Thank God It Was Taliban
Ridley told the Star that she really thanked God that here captors were the Taliban and not the Americans.
�When I look back at my experience now, and I see the shocking images of Guantanamo Bay , and the horrendous images and stories emerging from the Abu Ghraib prison , I thank Allah I was captured by the most evil and brutal regime in the world and not by the Americans.�
Ridley, as an anti-war activist at the time, recalled how the US intelligence sent a dossier to Taliban alleging that she was a spy to silence her anti-war movement.
�Had I been shot or executed, this would have helped justify the bombing of Afghanistan. It would have further demonized the Taliban. I was told by one intelligence officer: �Don�t take this personally. It wasn�t against you,�� she said laughingly.
In an interview with IslamOnline.net before accepting Islam, Ridley said that the wonderful thing about Islam was that �you have a direct link with God. You don�t need a conduit or a middle person. Peace and love to all.�
Ridley has become a fervent anti-war campaigner since her release.
She has supported the Stop the War Coalition and traveled around the world addressing anti-war gatherings.
She is a founding member of Women in Journalism and the patron of British organisation Stop Political Terror, which looks into the welfare of Muslims in Britain, especially those being held in the notorious Belmarsh and Woodhill prisons.
Ridley still writes for the Sunday Express and also for Muslims Weekly in New York.
She is currently involved with the Islam Channel, a satellite broadcast that started about a year ago in Britain.
Hijab in Parliament
An active member of the nascent Respect political party in Britain, Ridley hopes to be the first female Muslim politician wearing a hijab in the parliament.
�I stood as a candidate in the European elections and we got a quarter of a million votes nationally,� she told the paper.
She continued: �It didn�t translate into a seat but we are going to be fielding candidates in the general elections which may be held in May next year.
�What is particularly significant is if I am successful, I would become the first female Muslim politician to sit in Westminster and probably the first woman wearing a hijab to sit in the houses of parliament.�
But Ridley knows that there is still a long way to go, though encouraged by the support of many Britons, who believe that Prime Minister Tony Blair has let them down.
�There is a ground swell of support from people who feel as though they no longer have a voice in the party headed by a British prime minister who appears to prefer to take his orders from Washington rather than from the people who elected him.�
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise.
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